Azarenka declined to participate in the Australian Open

Former number one in the world tennis ranking Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) declined to take part in the Australian Open, which began early next week. The two-time champion in Melbourne in 2012 and 2013, Azarenka has denied her Wild Card and will stay in California, USA, where she continues to run a custody case with her former partner for her firstborn son, Leo. The organizers announced that they will offer the invitation to the Belarusian athlete to be replaced by Australian racer Ayla Tomlyanovic. Azarenka, who was born in December 2016, last season played only six games, the last one of which was Wimbledon on July 10th, and because of the lawsuit she missed the second part of the season. Due to the long absence she fell from the top 200 in the world rankings.